In the oriental discourse that's embedded within A Passage to India what struck me (among other things) was Forster's description of the soil of India and it's relationship with the people. In the first chapter he writes 'So abased, so monotonous is everything that meets the eye, that when the Ganges comes down it might be expected to wash the excrescence back into the soil.' In chapter 2 he writes, 'Nevertheless walking fatigued him, as it fatigues everyone in India except the new comer. There is something hostile in that soil.' and 'So the leave-taking began. Everyone was cross or wretched. It was as if irritation exuded from the very soil.' (page 83). There are countless other examples throughout the book but I'll refrain from quoting every single one here.
Soil is the physical manifestation of the roots of a people and in this instance Forster is patronizing not only in his attitude towards the people of India but the very land itself as well. 'there's something hostile in the soil' - Forster is describing a land that is uninviting. That makes difficult for one to reside whether its in the private or public sphere. By alienating the people from the soil, he's then able to give the people an identity from an Orientalist point of view. It's what Said talks about in Orientalism - power through knowledge.
No comments:
Post a Comment